Wisconsin continues 'Sweet' streak

With Saturday's 65-62 upset over the No. 1 seed Villanova Wildcats, the No. 8-seed Wisconsin Badgers have made the Sweet 16 for a fourth consecutive season -- the only team that can make that claim.

Wisconsin made four contested shots down the stretch, including Bronson Koenig's 3-pointer that gave the Badgers the lead with 2:00 remaining and Nigel Hayes' winning layup with 12 seconds left.

In the final 5:30 of regulation, Wisconsin scored 15 points, going 6-for-9 from field goal range, 2-for-3 from behind the arc and 4-for-7 on contested field goals. Villanova scored 5 points in that timespan, going 1-for-5 from behind the arc, 0-for-2 on 3-pointers and 0-for-3 on contested field goals.

The Badgers were 5½-point underdogs to the Wildcats, but in some ways, the result continued recent trends. Villanova has lost four of its last five games in the Round of 32 (dating to 2010). All five of those games were played as a No. 1 or No. 2 seed.

Villanova's four losses before the Sweet 16 as a top-2 seed are tied for second with Duke. Only Kansas has more such losses (six).

Wisconsin has a a Division I-high three wins over an Associated Press No. 1 team since the 2010-11 season. The Badgers are 3-1 in their last four games against an AP No. 1. Previously, they lost 17 of their first 18 games against an AP No. 1.